Page Two: Sept. 14-20; IN BRIEF

Published: September 21, 2003

* Hurricane Isabel cut a broad swath of destruction, flooding cities in Virginia and Maryland, leaving millions of people without power and causing damage that crushed cars and blocked countless roads from North Carolina to New Jersey. At least 23 deaths were attributed to the storm, including 14 in Virginia. Most were the result of traffic accidents, or from trees toppling onto cars or houses.

* Recent lawsuits filed against people accused of illicitly distributing music over the Internet appeared to be having little impact. KaZaA, the most popular file-sharing software, had only a five percent decline in users, according to Nielsen/Net Ratings. One smaller service, iMesh, actually experienced a slight increase in users.